PM rocked by Labor leaks amid bitter divisions

By Michelle Grattan

28 July 2010 — 3:00am

BITTER Labor Party divisions threaten to derail Julia Gillard's election campaign, with pro-Rudd forces suspected of leaking damaging claims that she argued in cabinet against paid parental leave and questioned the size of a pension rise.

The sensational allegations follow an earlier leak that Ms Gillard went back on a deal to give former prime minister Kevin Rudd a chance to revive his leadership.

She allegedly argued that it was wrong to think the scheme, due to start on January 1, would be an electoral winner because it would be resented by people beyond child-bearing age and stay-at-home mothers.

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It is also claimed she questioned the size of last year's $14 billion age pension boost - which delivered an extra $30 a week in the single base rate - commenting that the elderly didn't vote Labor.

Ms Gillard did not deny the claims last night. ''I was very pleased to be a member of the Labor team that delivered these two historic achievements. Pensioners and families deserve more support, and this government has given them that support,'' she said. ''Cabinet discussions are confidential.''

The claim that she opposed paid parental leave in cabinet emerged just two days after she used Sunday's televised leaders' debate to talk up the government's scheme, which will offer primary carers 18 weeks' paid leave at the minimum wage of about $570 a week.

Her allegedly negative stance on the pension boost was also at odds with her positive reference to it during the leaders' debate, which elicited a positive movement in the ''worm'' meter that tracked TV studio audience responses. ''We did a major increase in the pension to help older Australians,'' she said.

Cabinet sources could not recall that Ms Gillard had made the reported comments on parental leave and pensions in cabinet. But the key decisions were often taken in the ''kitchen cabinet'' of Kevin Rudd, Treasurer Wayne Swan, Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner and Ms Gillard.

Oakes, who was also the recipient of the leak about an alleged leadership deal on the night before Ms Gillard deposed Mr Rudd, identified his source last night as Labor.

When Ms Gillard responded that if the Liberals had allegations to make, they should put their names to them, Oakes said: ''PM, you know this information didn't come from the Liberals. You'll need to look a lot closer to home.''

Some in the Labor Party were last night blaming Mr Rudd or his supporters for the leak.

Campaigning yesterday in his electorate, where he has removed references to Labor from promotional posters, Mr Rudd said: ''I fully support the re-election of the government and I fully support the election of Prime Minister Gillard.''

A spokesman for Mr Rudd said last night he would ''not be commenting on cabinet processes or deliberations''.

NSW Labor senator Steve Hutchins said last night's allegation was a ''mischievous disgrace'' and ''smacks of sour grapes. This sort of shenanigans is damaging the re-election chances of the Labor government.'' He said he did not believe the content of the leak.

Former Victorian Premier Joan Kirner dismissed the story as rubbish. ''Julia and Jenny Macklin argued for paid parental leave, Julia did the tactics and strategy,'' she said. And former ACTU boss Sharan Burrow said: ''I never saw anything other than total support [for paid parental leave] from Julia Gillard … Laurie Oakes must be suffering some sort of relevance deprivation syndrome.''

Other sources queried the veracity of the story, arguing both the parental leave and pension measures had likely attracted debate in the cabinet subcommittee but no one in the government had opposed them.

Pro-Gillard minister Simon Crean said at the weekend Mr Rudd had to accept he could not be leader. ''He's got to move on and he's got to play as part of a team.'' Ms Gillard has promised Mr Rudd a senior ministry if she wins the election.

Ms Gillard had already had a patchy day, facing questions about whether she would marry her partner Tim Mathieson and what his future role would be.

Launching a $277 million mental health initiative in Brisbane, Ms Gillard was asked whether Mr Mathieson would play a front-line role selling the policy, given he was active in men's health. She deflected that question and several others, arguing her partner provided an ordinary person's perspective.

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Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said he would not comment on the evident internal divisions within Labor ranks, but he said Ms Gillard had some explaining to do.

He said Ms Gillard had been ''only too happy to claim credit'' for the pension increase that she is said to have queried in cabinet. ''She's a very smooth talker our Prime Minister, but you can never be sure she believes what she says,'' Mr Abbott said last night.